RIKERS ISLAND, New York -- Officials say a transgender woman who was found dead in a New York City jail died of natural causes due to a seizure related to epilepsy.
A jail officer found 27-year-old Layleen Polanco unresponsive in her Rikers Island cell in June. She had been in custody since mid-April, unable to post $500 bail after an assault arrest.
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The medical examiner said Tuesday the cause of death was sudden unexplained death in epilepsy.
Polanco was in a restrictive housing unit, meaning she was required to spend the majority of her day in her cell, with up to seven hours outside it.
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An attorney at The Legal Aid Society released a statement saying her death "further underscores the dangers of solitary confinement, which isolates already medically fragile people from observation and care."
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